PS Chemistry 2014-2015

Mrs. Kotlowski

Regents Chemistry Syllabus

OVERVIEW:

Chemistry plays a key role today in all fields of science and technology in many diverse areas ranging from research to the application of new technology in our everyday lives. This is a lab course that has been designed to give a basic understanding of the fundamental principles and ideas that define the science of chemistry. Chemistry is the study of matter and energy and the interactions between them. This course will include discussions of past, present and future social and historical issues related to chemistry.

GOALS:

  1. Understand principles that define the science of chemistry
  2. Apply chemical principles to explain real world problems/applications
  3. Develop and enhance laboratory skills
  4. Enhance general knowledge of the physical world live in
  5. Develop general problem solving skills
  6. Learn about the history of chemistry
  7. Prepare to successfully pass the NYS Regents exam

MATERIALS REQUIRED:must be brought to classdaily

  • ring binder: hold unit packets, various handouts and class notes
  • pen(s), pencil(s): blue or black ink onlyfor graded assignments
  • scientific calculator: programmable/graphing calculators are NOT permitted
  • reference tables: provided by teacher
  • current unit packet: provided by teacher

supplemental material required:

  • textbook (Chemistry: Matter and Change): to be kept at home since all required reading will be HW assignments

ATTENDANCE:

Regular attendance is crucial for success. It is easier to keep up than catch up!

  • absent students are responsible for ALL content and assigned work covered during absence
  • absent students are given a detailed handout upon return to class (includes all missed assignments, assignment due dates and make-up dates for missed labs)

All students absent the day before a quiz or Unit Test are expected to take the assessment as scheduled.

Any student absent for 3 or more days must see Mrs. Kotlowski to work out a schedule for making up work missed during the student's absence.

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TARDINESS:

Students not present in class when the last bell rings are considered late. A pass is required to be admitted late to class. Late students will be required to sign in when they enter class; a student who is late three times may be assigned detention.

PASSES:

  • a “Bathroom pass” will be available in the classroom
  • only one student is permitted to leave class at a time
  • cell phones must remain in the classroom
  • bathroom pass can not be used during the first or last 10 minutes of class
  • students will not be permitted to leave class for any other destinations unless thay have been issued an official pass to do so

CLASSROOM:

  • Cell Phones:
  • MAY NOT be used in the classroom at any time – No Exceptions!
  • Phones must be OFF and stored in the student’s backpack at all times to eliminate this huge distraction to student learning!
  • Participation:
  • students are expected to be prepared for every class (have completed homework & materials) and be ready to participate in classroom discussions
  • every student’s opinion is valued so all are encouraged to contribute to the learning process
  • everyone makes mistakes and we all learn best from our errors
  • everyone in the classroom is expected to treat each other with respect at all times

GRADING:

The assessment percentages for each quarter are as follows:

  • Tests 65% [failed tests must be signed by a parent/guardian]
  • Quizzes 10%
  • Labs 15%
  • Homework 10%

MIDTERM AND REGENTS EXAMS:

  • Midterm exam counts as 25% of the 2nd quarter grade (equivalent to 2 test grades)
  • Chemistry Regents Exam counts as 5th quarter grade (20% of the total course's grade)

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ASSESSMENTS: Any student that takes out a CELL PHONE during a quiz/test (whether using it or not) will be given a grade of zero – NO EXCEPTIONS!

  • UNIT TESTS: announced in advance; dates posted in class and online
  • test questions cover current unit’s content and may contain previous unit(s) content
  • NO in classreview for tests
  • after school review sessions are held the day before each unit test
  • students absent the day before a unit test are expected to take the test as scheduled
  • students legally absent for unit test have 1 week to complete test to avoid a zero grade
  • missed assessments should preferably be made up during a free period or after school to avoid missing critical class time/course content
  • QUIZZES: usually announced in advance: posted in class & online; pop quizzes can happen anytime
  • quiz questions may be from class notes/lessons, textbook readings, assigned labs, and HW
  • students absent the day before a quiz are expected to take the quiz as scheduled
  • students legally absent for a quizhave 2 days to complete the quiz (preferably during a free period or after school); quick feedback is essential for ALL ASSESSMENTS
  • HOMEWORK: all long term HW assignments are posted online along with due dates
  • must be turned in at beginning of class ondue date; not accepted after class has begun
  • DAILY HOMEWORK IS NOT ACCEPTEDLATEunless a student is legally absent
  • legally absent student must submit HW atbeginning of class on day return to class
  • absent student is responsible for handing in HW once they return to class
  • LONG TERM HW assignments ARE NOT ACCEPTED LATE regardless iflegally absent or not; long term assignments may always be handed in early
  • LABS: help reinforce learning process
  • students are encouraged to complete ALLlabs and submit completed lab reportson time
  • ALLLab reports must be typed (templates are provided on the web site)
  • ALL lab questions must be answered in full, complete, grammatically correct sentences
  • labs submitted after due date have 1 point deducted for each day late, up to 7 days
  • lab reports receivedafter 7 days given grade of zero; eligible for lab hours only
  • lab templates, due dates, and make-up datesfor missed labs are posted on website

Students ABSENT on day lab is performed in class:

- labs can only be made up after school

- all labs must be made up within 2 weeks of originally scheduled date

- scheduled make up days will be posted on website

- any lab not made up will be given a grade of zero and can not count towards lab hours

- all completed, typed lab reports must be submitted by revised due date given

Students who earn a FAILING lab report grade:

- students are given opportunity to make corrections on first 4 labs ONLY

- allowsstudents having difficulty meeting given expectations for writing properlab

reports at the beginning of the courseto get up to speed

[NOTE: NYS requires completion of 1200 minutes of lab work; this requirement includes performing the lab, submitting a completed lab report, AND achievinga passing grade for each lab. Failed labs DO NOT count. Students failing to meet the NYS lab hour requirementwill be barred from taking the NYS Chemistry Regents exam in June.

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LAB SAFETY:

Safety rules in the lab are strictly enforced. There are NO exceptions! Any student who is not practicing safety in the lab (as outlined in their signed Safety Contract) will be asked to leave the lab area immediately; a grade of zero will be given for the lab and NO MAKE-UP allowed for the lab.

EXTRA HELP: Content review sessions: Wednesdays 2:00 – 3:30pm

Lab make-up sessions: Mondays/Tuesdays 2:00 – 3:30pm

All students are encouraged to attend extra help sessions as needed. Putting academics first will help students maximize their success in Chemistry. Extra help should take priority over sports practice, extracurricular activities or after school employment. Students are expected to adjust their after school activities so they may attend extra help sessions as needed.

Chemistry is a building block course which means that each unit builds upon the previous unit(s). If you do not learn and understand the content as we go along, youwill have problems moving forward. It is always more difficult to work from a deficit than to stay on track.

WEBSITE:

Mrs. Kotlowski’s website found on the John Jay Home page on district website under teacher links

  • Announcements Link: importantcourseannouncements; information on assessments (tests, quizzes) and long term HW assignments
  • Homework Link: day to day HW assignments
  • Textbook reading assignment Link: scheduled assignments and due dates
  • PPT lesson Link: PowerPoints presented in class listed by unit
  • Test objective Link: everything need to know for each unit test
  • Lab Link: templates for completing typed lab reports: due dates and make-up dates listed
  • Course documents Link: course Syllabus; student info sheet; Lab Safety Contract; suggestions regarding ways to maximize student success in Chemistry
  • Links Link: assorted chemistry related websites and various resource sources

Student expectations:

Students are expected to come to class, have the proper tools, participate in class discussions, take notes and complete their assigned work so they can be successful!

Studentsare expected to ask questionswhen they don’t understand something. It is the student’sresponsibility to make sure they understand the curriculum content. I’m here to do everything I can to help each and every student but I can’t learn the content for them.

CHEM-IS-TRY: Good work habits, good behavior, and regular attendance will have a significant positive impact on your success in this class as well your grade.

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FOR PARENTS

PS Chemistry(Regents) 2013-2014

Chemistry can be very challenging for even the best of students. Why?

Chemistry presents some unique challenges for even the best students. For many students learning chemistry may represent the first time a student is being challenged in their learning process. Students may need to employ more time and effort than they are used to giving in order to achieve the level of success that came easier in the past. Here’s why:

  • The Chemistry course curriculum is comprehensive and very detailed. It requires students to do higher level problem solving; analyzing of concepts, comparing and contrasting concepts with each other or a known situation to an unknown situation.
  • Chemistry is a building block course in which content builds upon itself from the first unit through the last one. Each unit builds a foundation for the unit(s) that follow. Much like the foundation of a house, each row of foundation blocks (each chemistry unit) must be strong enough to support the house (completed chemistry course content). Weakness at any level will affect the whole.
  • All questions on each unit test are from the New York State Regents test bank. The multiple choice questions are not simple ‘what is this’ type of questions. Instead they are detailed, analytical type questions. Students often are expected to draw from their own knowledge pool to perform multiple step functions before they can determine the correct answer.
  • Students often overestimate their knowledge of the content. They confuse being familiar with a topic (such as recognizing it) with truly knowing and understanding the topic. For example, think about the following two tasks. Task 1: You are given a list of names and are asked to circle the names of any US presidents – this is recognition. Task 2: You are given a blank piece of paper and are asked to list the names of every US president – this istrueknowledge. The Regents Chemistry course involves being able to meet the challenges needed to perform Task 2.

What can be done to increase success of your son/daughter?

Your son/daughter can increase their chance of success by utilizing these helpful guidelines:

  • spend at least 20 minutes each day going over the lesson covered in class
  • review class PowerPoint lessons (found on website)
  • re-write notes to re-inforce learning (or expand notes while viewing PowerPoints online)
  • finish all unit packet pages not completed in class and/or complete extra packet pages not covered in class for more practice (can compare answers with answer key in class)
  • complete unit vocabularydefinitions
  • use textbook NOT google to find correct definitions
  • students who don’t properly complete vocab are not as successful as those that do
  • print PowerPoint lessons ahead of time
  • students can fill in the ‘extras’ gone over in class and highlight key points
  • students who copy every single word in class cannot keep up lesson’s fast pace and miss key ideas of content covered as well as class discussion becauseare too busy copying

Kotlowski PS Chemistry (Regents) 2013-2014

  • use test objectives for each unit (see website)
  • start reading/reviewing several days before test so can ask pertinent questions in class – waiting untilnight before unit test to study is counterproductive
  • answer the review questions at the end of each unit packet (compare with Mrs. K’s key)
  • make flash cards as needed – these are helpful to:
  • compare and contrast concepts
  • keep complex definitions straight
  • utilize link on website to find flashcards created byMrs. Loh to printout and/or use
  • use Review Book as source to review topics
  • answer questions for each topic to check understanding (Barron’s version is a good one because it explains why the wrong answers are wrong)
  • find a buddy to study with – working with peer can be very helpful and productive
  • can quiz each other on definitions
  • can compare and contrast topics together
  • can talk things out which helps reinforce/fine tune your knowledge
  • in addition attend after school extra help review sessions:
  • allows students to review any and all concepts having difficulty with
  • after school review sessions will be given the day before each unit test

How will parent/teacher communication work?

Parent/Teacher contact accomplished through usual methods:

  • progress reports (every five weeks)
  • quarter report cards (every 10 weeks)
  • lab letters sent by district every 5 weeks (starting week 10) to any student missing labs (you will also be contacted directly by me if labs are missing)
  • emails with JJHS Chem class on subject line are from me to share important class info

To contact Mrs. Kotlowski: best method is via e-mail

  • e-mail:
  • to ensure that your e-mail is opened please putstudent’s name on subject line
  • phone: (845) 897-6700 ext. 30039
  • answering machine in chemistry office is shared by 3 teachers so please state:
  • name of teacher
  • name of student
  • phone number can be reached at and best time to call you

The Success of your son or daughter is important to both of us!

I encourage, and look forward to working together to maximize your son’s/daughter’s success in Regents Chemistry. Please feel free to contact me any time with any questions or concerns you may have. I look forward to meeting you at the Open House!

Regards,

Mrs. Kotlowski

Kotlowski PS Chemistry (Regents) 2013-2014

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Parents & Students: Please sign, tear off and RETURN THIS PAGE ONLY, Keep the syllabus for future reference. Thanks! Mrs. K

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Students get HW credit for turning this in by WednesdaySeptember 10, 201

By signing this you acknowledge that you have read and agree to abide by the rules stated in the Regents Chemistry Syllabus for the 2014-2015 school year.

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Student Name (please print legibly) class period

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Student Signature date

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Parent/Guardian Name (please print legibly)

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Parent/Guardian Signature date

* Parent e-mail address:

(please print legibly)

Kotlowski PS Chemistry (Regents) 2014-2015